Tutorial: Write your first Photoshop script Creative ~ Photoshop Tutorial

Ive already explained how to write a script for Illustrator using the ExtendScript toolkit in a previous tutorial. This time, Im scripting for Photoshop and Im also building a panel for my script using Adobe Configurator.

My Script: Export selected layer

There is a manual operation that I do ALL THE TIME in Photoshop: exporting a single layer to a single PNG or JPEG file. Every time, I copy the content of a layer, create a document, paste the content, save for the web, etc So I took the opportunity to create a script that will automate these tasks. You could use the classic Photoshop actions, but I like the freedom of coding to control the experience.

I showcase my script Export selected layer at the beginning of my video tutorial, but you can test it yourself in Photoshop. To do so, just open the Adobe Exchange panel in Photoshop and search for my name chaize, or type export. Youll be able to install and test my script.

The video tutorial: Develop a script for Photoshop in less than 15 minutes

Its in High Definition on YouTube. Enjoy:

My Script: The source code

Here is the source code of my script that exports the selected layer of your PSD to a transparent PNG:

#target photoshop// EXPORT PNG 24 TRANSPARENT// Function to launch the "Layer > Rasterize > with style"// Produced with the JavaScript listenerfunction raterizeLayerStyle(){ var idrasterizeLayer = stringIDToTypeID( "rasterizeLayer" ); var desc5 = new ActionDescriptor(); var idnull = charIDToTypeID( "null" ); var ref4 = new ActionReference(); var idLyr = charIDToTypeID( "Lyr " ); var idOrdn = charIDToTypeID( "Ordn" ); var idTrgt = charIDToTypeID( "Trgt" ); ref4.putEnumerated( idLyr, idOrdn, idTrgt ); desc5.putReference( idnull, ref4 ); var idWhat = charIDToTypeID( "What" ); var idrasterizeItem = stringIDToTypeID( "rasterizeItem" ); var idlayerStyle = stringIDToTypeID( "layerStyle" ); desc5.putEnumerated( idWhat, idrasterizeItem, idlayerStyle ); executeAction( idrasterizeLayer, desc5, DialogModes.NO );}// Get current document and current layervar docRef = app.activeDocument;var activeLay = docRef.activeLayer;//Duplicate the layer and rasterize itvar newLayer = activeLay.duplicate();newLayer.rasterize(RasterizeType.ENTIRELAYER);docRef.activeLayer = newLayer;raterizeLayerStyle();//Copy the content of the layer in the clipboardnewLayer.copy();//Get the dimensions of the content of the layervar tempWidth = newLayer.bounds[2] - newLayer.bounds[0];var tempHeight = newLayer.bounds[3] - newLayer.bounds[1];//Create a new document with the correct dimensions and a transparent backgroundvar myNewDoc = app.documents.add(tempWidth,tempHeight,72,"exportedLayer", NewDocumentMode.RGB,DocumentFill.TRANSPARENT);//Add an empty layer and paste the content of the clipboard insidevar targetLayer = myNewDoc.artLayers.add();myNewDoc.paste();//Set the opacitytargetLayer.opacity = activeLay.opacity;//Options to export to PNG filesvar options = new ExportOptionsSaveForWeb(); options.format = SaveDocumentType.PNG; options.PNG8 = false; options.transparency = true;options.optimized = true; //Export Save for Web in the current foldermyNewDoc.exportDocument(File(docRef.path+'/export '+ activeLay.name +'.png'),ExportType.SAVEFORWEB, options);//Close the temp document without saving the changesmyNewDoc.close (SaveOptions.DONOTSAVECHANGES);//Remove the temp layernewLayer.remove();

If you have any questions, dont hesitate to post a comment.

In a future post, Ill explain how to distribute your panel on the Adobe Exchange marketplace, and Ill feature some cool scripts for Photoshop coders such as the xTools. Ive also been told that the pan PNG-Express is a professional script to produce PNG files from layers, with A LOT of features compared with my little script.

About K-Sora

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